Washcloth
by Wicked R
Summary: No, you didn't need another post-As I Lay Dying story. But Elena did need to use that washcloth a lot more! Mostly Delena, D/OC flashbacks
1. Chapter 1

Title: The Washcloth

Disclaimers: I don't own any supernatural powers or anything else to do with TVD. If I had, Delena would happen a lot more often!  
>Genre: supernatural, hurtcomfort, romance.

Rating: PG-15

Summary/Set/Pairing: right after the last Delena scene we've seen at the end of season 2, just cause the washcloth was so underused.

Elena looked back at Damon, biting her lips, a myriad of thoughts and emotions chasing each other and mixing like mush in her head. Katherine had sped away, not giving her a chance to ask for more specifications, or the whereabouts of Stefan. She had to find him herself. Elena felt a strong pull to rush out the door and downtown to Rick's, perhaps there would be a clue there, even if Klaus was not around anymore. But a brief look at Damon told her she could do no such thing.

"Easy, easy, Damon!" She exclaimed, watching his struggle trying to sit up grunting, "you need to lie back down a little, ok?" She knelt on the bed like Katherine had before and supported his back as he eased himself onto the pillow. Not as if he had a choice. The debilitating, consuming fatigue was gone, yet his limbs felt weighed down with lead and the room span with a sickening effect when he lifted his head. He closed his eyes again tightly to countereffect the phenomenon.

"Damon!" Elena panicked, shaking his arm, but only a little as she was not sure if she would be hurting him, given in how much pain he had been in previously. "Come on Damon, you have to drink the rest of this blood," she raised the glass vial to his lips.

The ailing vampire groaned. Drinking and feeling sick at the same time was not a good combination. "Later. I'm kinda nauseous."

Elena nodded, her brows furrowing in concern once more. If he was sick, would that mean the precious cure could go to waste? That Damon could still die? "Are you feeling any better?" She demanded frantically, checking his temperature by touching his forehead. He did seem a little less feverish, but could she be sure?

"I think so," he not much more than guessed, just like her. So he could be further convinced, he raised his hand to look at the site of the bite. They both stared and did a doubletake at the sight. Damon had to lift his arm almost up to his nose till he could see any evidence of what had been there. A scar and some faint rosy swelling was all that remained. "Why am I not back to normal?" Damon shook his head, confused expression coming back to replace relief.

Not as if he had to be reminded of the spasms that were plaguing his body not so long ago, "the toxin has flooded your whole system," Elena suggested, closing her eyes for a moment herself in relief. If the bitemark was almost totally gone, she felt it was more likely he could not regress now, sick or not. Only timescales could change. "It might take a while to rid itself of it and it could also really be that you'll need to down the whole bottle."

Damon nodded a little uncertainly and held out a hand for the vial. Elena didn't pass it completely over to him, but supported his weak, shaking hand to his mouth and waited patiently till he took his time with slow mouthfuls, then sat the glass on the bedside table, "how are you feeling now?"

"Sorry, still a little queasy," he rubbed a hand over his upper stomach, and winced.

"Wait, I've got an idea," she sped out to the bathroom almost with vampire speed and returned with a bowl of cold water and two towels this time, "maybe it's the fever making you feel sick, that happens," she told him in case he forgot a long time ago how it was to be unwell as a human, "let's bring it down even more," she smiled at him, pulling his hands to his sides and starting to swiftly unbutton his sticky, drenched shirt. Pulling the fabric aside, to her credit she paused no longer than a few seconds as her hormonal self took in the sight of his chest and abdominals. He had been trying to impress her with showing off his body before and she'd always blocked it out as an annoyance she had to put up with, but her mind was too hazy from all the worry and anxiety of the last few days for her conscious control to dominate. She blinked herself back to focus, and yet her hands ran down his well toned perfect chest unnecessarily when she reached back for her towel.

"There," Elena reassured him, placing the cold washcloth on his tummy, "it should help calming down your stomach, it helps me if there's something wrong," she explained. Then she grabbed hold of the other cloth and set off to cool the rest of him bit by bit, gently, sympathetically. She started with his forehead, the sides of his face, his neck, arriving once more to that delectable, flawless chest of his. The human girl found it took some conscious effort from her to concentrate elsewhere than the feel under her fingers and the slight curves they mounted, but she washed him as well as she could under the circumstances, going as far on his sides as she could with the shirt still under his back.

"You wanna take it off?" The young woman tugged at his sleeves, but he shook his head and swallowed, "I'd rather not move just now just in case."

Elena didn't force the issue any further, but she did believe he had to be cooled down some more, not to mention how feeling less icky and sticky would be a benefit. Taking his boots and socks off was easy and she quickly gave his soles a wipe, but she knew that would not make all that much difference. Considering removing his pants, Elena blushed a great deal, but looking him up and down in her discomfiture she realised he not only had his eyes shut, but had been surprisingly calm and submissive during the whole washing down procedure so far. Elena found it impossible that in the state he was in he would be having any sexual thoughts and she bit her lip, feeling thoroughly embarrassed for having those inappropriate ideas herself. Damon could not kiss her back a few minutes ago, and although there were signs of improvement, his silence and stillness indicated she will be safe carrying on with nursing him in the manner his condition asked for.

With a slight shake of the hands she could not suppress, Elena handled the button on his trousers, then slid the zipper down, taking a big breath and containing a shiver at the feel of the springy softness of the hair of his pleasure trail and his tiled abs. Gliding his trousers down from under him felt a very awkward thing to do and she wondered whether she should call Alaric now that the worst was over, but then decided she wanted to make Damon feel better sooner than later and resumed washing him down from head to toe.

Little did she know that his eyes were closed because he not only avoided eye contact, but refused looking at her lovely appearance in any shape or form. It was bad enough having to bear up to her touch and not show her how much he would've wanted to have her in his arms once again. Damon had a hard job suppressing his desires in bare pants, exposed like that, but he just had to keep reminding himself that it was completely inappropriate given the circumstances and most importantly, it might ruin the moment, in fact in might jeopardize their established, but shaky intimacy for good. He could not let his penis react, he could not, he repeated like a mantra guiltily. It helped, as it reminded him of where Stefan got to for his sake. However, he was not strong enough to chase Klaus down yet, and so there he was, not capable of doing much else than endure the torture of having Elena so close and caring and not being able to do anything about it. Taking a shaky breath and grinding his teeth, a groan eventually escaped him.

Elena paused and raised her head, "Damon? You ok?"

The vampire thanked heavens he was too pale to be able to blush right now. Frantically thinking about what his excuse could be for the groan, he rubbed a hand over his stomach. He had complained about it earlier, it was maybe plausible to blame his moan on pain. Not to mention that if Elena suspected anything, she would immediately stop those enjoyable ministrations. "A little sore still," he held a palm on his abdomen, peeking at her with a sheepish expression. He had to find out whether she believed him.

Elena rolled her eyes. "A little? I wonder what little sore means for a vampire. Here, let me change this for you," Elena wrung the washcloth out that she had previously placed on his belly and started to make gentle, round patterns with it soothingly like a massage on his upper stomach and round his navel. "Is that helping?"

Damon nodded and closed his eyes again. It was pleasurable all right, but far enough from his groins not to cause him to noticeably harden if he was careful enough. The young woman sighed, relieved that she could make a difference. She hated seeing him in pain. But now that he was a bit better, his skin a lot cooler and his previously sweaty skin clean and soft, and gaining colour, her mind started to wonder again as she watched the water trail her own fingers made and droplets making their way round and down his perfect torso. With Stefan gone and Damon barely safe from death's clutches, how could she have such a strong desire to explore that area hidden to her under his pants.

She had heard about his manhood, yes. She had heard about his expertise and persistence with which he could please a woman. Not all the memories Caroline had gained back after becoming a vampire about her relationship with Damon were bad, far from it and the blonde had shared some with her friends.

Elena's hand wandered off by own accord while thinking about her friend's words, over his lower stomach and across that pleasure trail, the tip of her thumbnail barely, but definitely meandering into the hem of his underwear along the soft tuft of the hairs that disappeared under the fabric. She immediately felt a gush of strong desire that shook her to her senses, so pretending that was she was going all along, she started kneading the muscles around his belly button with the washcloth like a form of wet massage.

Her little escapade shook the boundaries of his self control. Feeling his penis stretching against the thin fabric of his underwear, he was in danger of loosing his shaky self control. He could take no more of her touch, not unless it was for torture and not the comfort she was intending. With panicky eyes and shaking with want, he gathered his strength and turned away from her to his side. "Thank you, Elena. I think it'd be best if I'd tried sleeping the rest of the infection off now. I'm truly feeling a lot better, don't worry now."

"Ok," Elena wheezed quickly, partially relieved that she did not have to navigate on treacherous waters anymore, but also somewhat thwarted that she couldn't continue with what she was enjoying so much. She rubbed at her forehead with her sleeves, only now realizing she was sweating as well from the intensity and ardency or the moment. Back on track. Stefan. She should text Stefan and she will, right after making sure Damon was comfortably asleep with a light cover over him.

Tbc


	2. First Light

Chapter 2: First Light

At first Damon wasn't exactly sure what woke him. You would think he'd sleep for ages to counteract the strain of the werewolf toxin. He opened his eyes to see that Elena was next to him, fully clothed, fallen asleep on the large bed with her cell in her hand. She was facing away from him, lying half on her side, half on her back and it was more her breathing pattern and heartbeat that told him she was asleep, rather than her closed eyes he could only see if he raised his head. The view mesmerized him however. Those features were the ones he fell in love with as Katherine's, but he wondered whether his vampire lover did ever look so young and innocent with the remains of yesterday's make up smudged a little around her eyes. Elena was using her arms as a pillow and it made her hair a little messy. With an adoring smile he reached out to smooth those locks and run his hand down her face, but remembered right in time that might wake her up and he wouldn't want that.

He seriously had to shift though. The way the curve of her back side touched his bare thighs under the covers was almost as unbearable to resist as her assistance with the washcloth the night before.

A couple of inches away, he found that he was now able to focus better and the options were between trying to go back to sleep and finding out how much the werewolf bite still affected him. He had his senses back, he knew that much immediately and after some inspection and introspection, he also found that the bite mark had completely disappeared and he felt no pain or discomfort whatsoever. Yes, well, no matter how okay he felt, the incident could not be forgotten and was with dire consequences. Did he understand well last night that Klaus was gone with Stefan? Surely Rick'd know if his apartment was free to be lived in again. Only he would not want the teacher living there at an original's playground, his friend was very welcome and much safer to stay at the Salvatore mansion as well and he would tell Rick as much if he could find his phone. Where could Elena have put his jacket? Ah, it was right next to him on the other side of the bed.

He pulled his phone out and stared at the screen. The sign of a new message was flashing on his screen and it was from Stefan. Holding his breath, the vampire opened it. "Take Elena somewhere far. Erase all her memories of me and take care of her like the Damon I saved and remember from the past."

Damon held it motionless in confusion, bewilderment and uncertainty. Stefan didn't approve of brainwashing, yet he'd asked him to perform the biggest compelling act he. had ever done. For Elena. So she didn't suffer the heartache. Which meant Stefan didn't think he would ever come back, at least not in this lifetime.

Well, he would do no such thing, he immediately decided. Why would Stefan think he'd not fight for his brother? Bloody nonsense. He had to get a move on.

Sitting up, his own nakedness became manifest to him again and he had decided it was best if he got decent before the young woman woke. Damon had enjoyed teasing her with his body in the past, but they were past that stage. Intimacy of the sort between them reminded him sorely of the fact that he could not have her, not really. He sped to his wardrobe and managed a pair of jeans on before he started feeling lightheaded. Maybe his vampire speed was not back yet and he should not force it, he advised himself, except it was too late for that. It came as a surprise to the vampire when he became certain he was going to pass out. Hanging on to the wardrobe door did not do much service to him and he hit the floor hard.

Elena woke to the noise, tensing immediately. Since she knew about vampires, she could never really relax. Her eyes anxiously searched for the cause of the thud and she jumped off the bed and rushed to the fallen man's side when it became apparent to her that Damon must've obviously overestimated his own strength. Kneeling down next to him, her mind contemplated how she should bring him back to consciousness, her gaze raking him up and down, weighing up the situation. His bare chest caught her sight once more and that made her even more nervy and edgy. She knew there was something wrong with the picture and her feelings, but she didn't have time to deal with that right now. She ran her tongue between her lips and swallowed. Look away. Concentrate. She pulled the shirt out of his hand that he was just about to put on before he lost consciousness and covered his upper body with it, more for her own sake, rather than for his. Not as if a vampire could feel the cold as a human did.

With the enticement taken out the equation, she contemplated what she could use to rouse him, cool water and washcloth again, or blood? And because Damon did not have any proper nourishment for who knows how long, she decided to go fetch a blood bag.

Neither was necessary however as she found him trying to find his footing when she came back. "Damon, let me help," she dropped the blood onto the nightstand on her way to support him and put an arm round him.

"I'm good," he straightened up, "we gotta talk to the others to find out if anyone knows something about Stefan."

"I'll update you on what I know in a minute," she manoeuvred herself under his armpit and started guiding him, "just as soon as you're back in bed," she placed her other hand on his still bare stomach to steady him.

Focussed on the feeling her proximity and her touch raised in him, Damon didn't want to argue. Not when her palm flattened on his belly caused the muscles there to contract with want.

The small movement under her fingers didn't go unnoticed by Elena though. She quickly removed her hand, assuming she was hurting him. That he was still in pain distressed and troubled her greatly and she helped him under the covers with utmost care, arranged the pillows and handed him the blood. "I only heated it up a little. I hope its ok," she winced, knowing she wasn't much of an expert at how any vampire, let alone this particular one liked his blood bags. "I already spoke to Bonnie, Alaric and Caroline. Unfortunately all we know is that Rick's apartment's empty and that a few funeral parlour workers have been compelled to arrange transport for some coffins, but they don't seem to remember anything now. Caroline's still running around checking every road out of Mystic Falls trying to chase down any vehicle that might be able to hide a coffin, but I don't think she would find them now. Klaus is gone with Stefan.." Elena trailed off, feeling utterly powerless and raging in her frustration with the most malicious Original. After all else he had done, Klaus took her lover for fun only and by no mistake, it would be partly to torment her and Damon. The oldest vampire will surface to tease and provoke them again and again and even if they'll have Stefan back this will never be over cause Klaus could not be killed and was eager to play with his victims for centuries long.

"Need to find Katherine," Damon threw the finished blood bag into the bin from several feet away, "she's either tracking them or could give a very good guess at where to find them."

"And in which direction you think Katherine went, huh?" Elena retorted, exasperated. It all seemed so hopeless to her. "Not as if that could be any different than all corners of the earth."

"I can find her. Where did you put my shoes?"

"You can find her. Really. Cause you had such good fortune finding her for a hundred and one and a half centuries, is it? Besides, you're not getting out of this bed till you recovered, understood?" She placed a light hand on his leg to accentuate her words, although carefully choosing to stay away from his still exposed chest and stomach. "Let Caroline do the work just now. She's feeling very guilty for what happened to you."

"She doesn't know the places it might be worthwhile looking for Katherine."

Elena shook her head, "humour me then, how and where is it you would go to look for Katherine?"

"She once lived in Chicago, Anna told me. Then there was Slater. Remember Rose's friend? He seemed to know more about Katherine than I did. There must be something in his files."

"Ok. Caroline will check it out as soon as possible."

"She's busy with other trails that she'd better test out while they are still hot."

"Don't argue with me Damon," Elena scolded, "a few minutes ago you passed out doing nothing more than trying to walk! And don't think I didn't notice how your stomach tensed when I did nothing more than touch it! You know how much I don't like games! Especially now, with Stefan gone and you ill. Can you just tell me the truth about how you're feeling?"

"I don't feel…" Damon's brows furrowed in confusion for a little while. All right, he should maybe not try common vampire antics just yet, but other than that, he was perfectly fine, other than perhaps in need of a shower as Elena did not wash him everywhere last night. Still, he would've preferred the washing. So what was this young girl talking about? He did not hurt anymore, not his stomach, not anywhere. Why was she fussing over him that much? Surely because she thought he was still very much unwell. "Good. I don't feel good," the words that lied left his lips before he could stop himself, like a bad habit he hadn't quite shed. Following his impulsive instincts, Damon wanted Elena to fret over him some more, touch him, be close to him, perhaps even and most importantly bond and build those bridges that always get burnt down by trust issues.

His mind had to immediately weigh the consequences too. For the first time, he considered whether he should take Stefan's advice. But lie here and do nothing about Klaus? Was there anything he could really do about Klaus right now?

It'd not be wise to take back what he's said to Elena, admit it wasn't true, it would do more harm than biting her would. So he'll have to keep playing the sick. Not as if he didn't have enough experience of it lately. Just one little diversion, for a day or two, and he'll hunt down the vampwolf. Is a little delay gonna make a difference to anything? Perhaps just a few hours, he wouldn't wanna loose all chance of tracking. No offence to Caroline, but she was a too young and a vampire for too short a time to be able to distinguish all smells.

"Okay," the brunette sighed, "what can I do?"

"That's exactly it Elena. Why would I start complaining if there isn't really anything you could do. I'm a little better and I'm sure I'll gradually improve, have to give it time."

"Where is it sore? Would massaging it not help?"

"It…it might," Damon said sheepishly, not completely convinced that deceit was the best way to go forward. Elena expected him to change and become the man she wanted him to be, but why if deception worked so well under so many circumstances.

His hesitation was once again taken as a sign of physical weakness by his carer. Elena reached out and placed her palm on his midsection, the part she had the washcloth on the night before. "Is it here Damon? You need to tell if there's anywhere else that hurts so I can at least try and do something about it."

"No, that's ok Elena, just my stomach now. Really."

The girl regarded him for a moment weighing him up, "tell me if its doing any good," she said softly and her fingers started to hesitantly trace soothing patterns round his navel. His belly was hard and tense and she doubted not for a second that it was giving him grief.

Damon held his breath. Her hand had started the trails so low and all of a sudden he was back to where they were last night, only this time it was a lot harder to contain himself as he did not feel weakened and woozy. He tried to relax and enjoy the gentle hands, but no, there was no way they could go any further. "No, no, Elena, that just makes it hurt more," he gave his excuse quickly and removed her hands.

"What can I do then?" The girl eyed him worriedly, lowering her arms. Frankly, she would've wanted to hug him and comfort him, but that would've reminded both of them too much of last night, their confessions and kiss. She couldn't go there, figuring out her feelings, it wasn't right for the moment. They had to get Stefan back first. "Do you think human painkillers would do any good?"

"Uhm, yeah, I'll try anything. Perhaps a whole pack would have some effect."

"Okay. I'll go out and get some right now. Just rest. Rick's due in any minute," she grabbed her jacket and spun into action.

Damon looked after her, muttering a quiet curse. He could fool Elena, but Rick? That could be an entirely different matter as the teacher knew him like no other.

Tbc


	3. Partner and Crime

Chapter 3: Partner

The uneven, but weighty footsteps were getting closer and there was no delaying the fact that Alaric would soon step into his room. Damon briefly contemplated whether he should just feign sleep the whole time, but he did actually want Rick's input on something. Fearing he did not look ill enough for the con anymore, he quickly ran around the room with vampire speed three times, managing to purposefully make himself dizzy and pale before he collapsed back into bed just in time. He closed his eyes, but blinked them open slowly as he heard Rick stopping by the bed, as if he would've just been startled awake by the noise.

"Elena forbade me to bring you any alcohol," Rick winced, "but I did bring you this," he hovered a glass half filled with blood in his direction.

Damon suppressed a gulp. That could've given him away. He was very hungry and his throat was dry, but he had to keep in character if he wanted to be sure Elena stayed with him some more. Determined to stay in control, the Salvatore shook his head, "I'm feeling better Rick, but not that much."

"You don't want the blood?" Alaric frowned, surprised, setting the glass on the bedside table. He sat down on the bed and placed a hand over Damon's leg for a moment in a forthcoming gesture, conveying his happiness at the fact he was alive. "You're healing, right? Just not very quickly. Cause I want to hunt that bastard of a crossbreed down and set him on an eternally burning fire."

"Who's suicidal now?" Damon rolled his eyes, his gaze settling on the nightstand for a millisecond. He could smell and see the appetising liquid, but only contemplated giving up the charade for the briefest of times. "What do you think of this?" He pulled his phone out, highlighted his brother's message and handed it to his friend.

Alaric pursed his lips, wishing he would've brought some whiskey for himself at least. A vampire's life always seemed so complicated and rollercoaster like, they could swing so easily between unspeakable things to surprising humanity and vice versa sometimes and it seemed like it was Stefan's turn to experience it. "You're not going to do it, are you?" The vampire hunter raised his eyes with sadness. He might curse vampires for the rest of his life, but without Damon in Mystic Falls his life would've had even less meaning than in had now.

"I'm not strong enough for a compulsion like that just yet," Damon contemplated, possibly it was even true. "But after a few of days maybe, it would be the easiest thing. I could take her somewhere pretending we're on a trail of Klaus and then change all her memories of the last couple of years or so. See that smile of her light up, make her happy and content. But live a lie for the rest of her life, I don't think I could do that." He never wanted to compel her like most of his girlfriends in any case cause he needed her to love him for the reality of what and who he was.

"Then don't," Alaric said forcefully, grabbing the opportunity to indicate his wishes and as far as he was concerned, that was all that was to be said about it. Topic over and too preposterous to be weighed up. "Promise me you won't Damon. That's the last thing I need, something like that to come back and haunt me when I'm all geriatric and grey in the head."

"So you're planning to reach oldmanhood then, hm?" Damon's eyes shined with an inner smile. With their lifestyle it did not seem very likely, but the vampire would do everything in his power to see that happen.

"Promise me, Damon," Alaric forced the issue.

"I didn't kill Andie either Rick, you asked me not to," he glanced involuntarily in the direction of the blood.

His friend noticed at once and straightened up to reach towards the glass if needed, "you hungry?"

"Yes," the vampire admitted, "but I bet you're not so keen on me being sick on you," he remembered to play his part. The paleness from vampire speed must've worn off by now and he was starting to get worried again that his buddy would see through him.

"That's ok Damon, you gotta try," Alaric gave him the glass and nodded at him encouragingly.

"Wait, take these pills then if you're drinking anyway," Elena darted in, shoving the medication she bought into his hands. "How's our patient?" She directed her words at her history teacher, knowing that it would be harder to get a straight answer out the bed's occupant.

"Getting there," the teacher said more as an encouragement to Damon, than a reply to Elena and squeezed the vampire's knee before standing up, "I'm going to go with Bonnie when she's talking to her ancestors again about Klaus. I don't trust those ancient witches, they seem to be very unpredictable about what they are willing to give to whom."

"Ancient bitches you mean," Damon agreed very much with Alaric's assessment.

"That would be great Rick, thank you so much for looking out for Bonnie and Jeremy," Elena followed him to the bedroom door, showing him out politely as if the Salvatore mansion would've really been her house, "could you please tell Bonnie to swing by after, no matter whether she can find out anything or not? I would want to ask her something that can not be dealt with over the phone."

"Of course," Alaric nodded and gave her a quasi smile before disappearing.

Elena turned back to discover that the vampire wasn't in his bed anymore, but she saw him disappearing into the bathroom, "Damon?" She rushed after him, "are you all right?"

"I knew I was feeling too queasy to drink," the Salvatore leant over the sink quickly, a bit startled. He didn't expect Elena to come so swiftly after him and he had to come up with some good excuse that covered all bases, while all he wanted to do out of sight in there was to do some vampire speed runarounds. His paleness was wearing off quickly and he had to do something about his disguise, worried that once he's back to full health, Elena might take her avoiding, judgemental, or indifferent approach with him.

"Take deep breaths, Damon, you need to keep those pills down," she moved next to him, laying a hand on his back to run her fingers up and down his muscled back softly, relaxingly.

"I'm not sure breathing as a function would do any good for a vampire," Damon groaned, coiling an arm round his stomach, holding on to the basin with the other.

"Shhh, just do it, ok?" Elena drew light circles on his back. She felt awkward, but was unsure of what else to do. Not as if there were vampire doctors, or the need for any.

Damon raised his head to gave her a look, "Elena, I can't…"

"Breathe," the girl forced the issue, "inhale and exhale in deep through your nose and out through your mouth for a minute. It's all right. I know you're not used to being sick and weak, but its all going to work out. Patience's not your forte either, that's all." Keeping a hand on his back and tearing her gaze away from the captivating look of his bare torso, she hugged him loosely, "here, I've got you and I'm still here." Assured that he was doing the breathing exercise she suggested, she turned the cold water tap on, splashed some water on her free hand and rubbed some on his face, neck and chest, never really letting go of him with her other hand in fear he was going to pass out again. "Is it working?"

"The water more than the breathing to be honest," Damon suggested apologetically.

"Okay, well, what do you say about a shower? Lukewarm perhaps. It might freshen you up."

"Yeah, maybe," Damon allowed. He was tense and somewhat discomfited. When it came right down to it, he didn't like lying to her. Going to have a shower might give him the freedom to think away from her and the reason he could say his illness was pretty much over if he claimed it really revived him. He pushed away from the sink, shuffling over to the shower cubicle and leaned on the side of its door. "If you could get me that shirt ready after, I'd be thankful."

Elena shook her head and started fiddling with the taps, trying out the temperature, "I'm not leaving you in pain by yourself," she raised her voice over the sound of the water, "you can barely move. What if you need help or something?"

Damon was wavering. Her eyes were so full of tenderness and worry as she looked at him, it was not right to trouble her so, "I won't need help," he said softly, shaking his head, "I can manage."

"Do you not think I can tell by now when you're lying?"

Damon blinked in surprise. He was lying all right, but the girl was missing the point. "The venom has not worn off, we both know that," Elena stepped into the cubicle, not minding all her clothes wet apparently, "I'm here to make sure nothing's gonna happen."

"If you wanted an excuse to see me naked you should've just asked."

Elena rolled her eyes, "you can take your pants off, I'll not look," she extended her hands towards him to steady him while he'd step into the booth, "I just want you to be all right…"

Tbc


	4. Spray

Chapter 4: Spray

Elena pulled towards the back, giving him room and keeping out the way of at least most of the wetness at the same time. At first, she simply let the water run down on him, keeping her arms round his waist.

Damon did not dare to move or make one, even as much as putting his hands around her, but he buried his head on her shoulder and nuzzled his nose into her hair. He inhaled her scent deeply, closing his eyes, concentrating on the feel of her voluntary closeness and the emotions that stirred, the experience of having her care for him so much. The older Salvatore had to enjoy it till it lasted, here and now, cause it wouldn't last. It couldn't. He needed her so much more than the other way round.

Was it over that quickly? Damon started as she pulled back away from him, but it turned out it was only to pick up the soap bottle. As she lathered her hands briskly so she didn't leave Damon standing unaided for long, he had a hard time repressing a smile of anticipation. Standing in the shower with her was one thing, but she was actually going to wash him clean?

Her soapy hands started at his shoulders and arms and he watched her focused, pursed lips for a while, she concentrated on the spot of skin she was cleaning as if her field of vision could take in no more. When the girl started rubbing his chest, he closed his eyes as well, just as embarrassed as she was.

"Hold on," Elena turned away to gather more soap and when she turned back she slapped the sticky liquid onto his tummy a little abruptly, surprising him. The sensation on his skin was electric. Her fingers trailed down a little, but then a strongly self-conscious look flitted across her face and her arms went round him instead, washing his waist. She swallowed, "feeling any better?" She was supposed to give attention to his wellbeing, wasn't she?

The naked vampire sort of growled, sort of moaned in response, some part of his brain acknowledging he had been spoken to. Words escaped him, he could not answer, could not rise above the tantalizing sensations and vibrations her touch initiated. It mimicked petting too much. As if the water running down on them would've made his tactile senses heightened, cold and warmth, fleeting and intense mingled in a single stroke. The rising, tingling sensation stemmed from under her hands, but it quickly stretched out and enveloped his whole body and the flesh below. Warning lights flashed in his mind once again, he became rigid and pulled himself out of her reach.

"Damon?" She wondered taken aback, still coaxing him for an answer. Her mouth opened as she still tried to find out how he was, but the schoolgirl remained speechless instead. The way he was standing, a little further away from her, gave her the perfect view of his front. Of all of his front, his chest dotted lightly with smooth little hairs, his curvilinear stomach and his very much alive and well straining manhood, twitching upwards into a firm, thick and long shape right in front of her eyes, hard and erect and ready for action. Eager, her head bent down inevitably a little to study it from an inch or so closer. Elena really felt like touching it. "Wow," she breathed, her mind's eye automatically imagining its entry into her hot, pulsating pussy. She couldn't think of anything else this shapely and big and heavenly.

"Normal reaction…" Damon whispered casually, resisting a smirk at her reaction, "its natural I wouldn't stop loving you and my body would not stop wanting you just because I'm not feeling a hundred percent."

Elena crossed her arms self consciously. She could only guess how her contours would show under the wet garments. "Maybe I should.." She gestured towards the bedroom, hesitating. Seemed like her own desires and sexual fantasies were getting in the way of her commitment to her friend's wellbeing and she felt guilt-ridden again.

"Yes, you should," Damon nodded at her decisively, turning away from her more to conceal his exposed privates than take the shampoo. Disregarding her as if she wasn't there, the vampire started washing his hair in a purposeful manner, steady on his feet.

He was okay, Elena was convincing herself, or the very least, he would be very soon. And if so, she was intruding, staring at the smooth skin of his bare bottom cheeks in a very improper manner for his brother's girlfriend. She settled for, "call if you need me, I'll leave the doors open," and she ran as fast as she could, away from temptation and into Stefan's room, as much as for fetching the extra clothes she kept at the boarding house, as for reminding herself of her loyalties in the space that belonged to her boyfriend.

Changing her outfit took her absolute ages. She found herself stalled, either standing or sitting, trousers or underwear frozen in her hands. Elena did listen out to the sounds coming from Damon's suite at first and she knew that he had finished his shower safely and was in all probability back in his bed she hoped, but that simply stalled her some more. Given the desire and the need she felt to comfort him in every way over the last twentyfour hours, the young woman could not imagine being able to keep the signs of her hankering to herself. They would not only inflate Damon's ego, the truth regarding her feelings towards him will be out of the bag once and forever and there would be no going back after that. Elena sat on the edge of Stefan's bed confused. Katherine had said it was okay to love them both, and she did, but there was no way that could work in reality, could it?

It was unusual for her not to notice new noise, her nerves have been on edge ever since she discovered vampires, so she was startled by Bonnie's voice and somewhat surprised to find she spent the last hour or so merely thinking herself into a corner.

"Elena?" The little witch slowly pushed the ajar door more open, "are you in here? Alaric said there was something you wanted to talk to me about? Are you all right?" She stepped up to her once she could see her, "have you been crying?"

"No, no," her friend rubbed her eyes, "just tired. Was up half the night trying to help Damon. And that's why I wanted to see you, to check whether there was any chance some witch power or spell could alleviate his condition?"

Bonnie narrowed her eyes, confounded, "I though he was saved and getting better?"

"Well, yeah, yeah, he is I guess," Elena gave hesitantly, "but I don't trust Klaus all the same. He wants his cake and eat it too, with everything being a little game for him as a bonus. I bet I'd even be sceptical if Damon was a hundred percent. But he isn't, Bonnie. He's weak and he's still got residual cramping. I though maybe if you could do a trick like accessing a blood vessel in his brain, you could also have access to the rest of his body inside?"

"What do you mean, like a magical x ray?" Bonnie could hardly suppress a little laugh, despite the hardship of the days before.

"Could you do something like that?" Elena pressed.

Bonnie shrugged, "yeah, that might work, but I don't know what else you're expecting of me. If something needs done, you know I'm not really all that versed in vampire healing potions and such. Its very feasible that our witch magic wouldn't even work to help his kind, if it was, I could've tried healing him earlier and Stefan didn't have to go off into Klaus' trap."

"Never mind that just now," Elena dragged the hesitant witch with her towards Damon's room, "we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Anything your ancestors said about Klaus by the way?"

"Not much, other than that we should not meddle with what it doesn't concern us. I'm clearly not a favourite after my last few requests, they didn't really like this one either."

"Obviously we have exhausted every source that is in Mystic Falls, we gotta search the history of the first vampires if we want to get more clues to Klaus' next move," Damon gave his opinion from his bed they've reached while conversing. He had of course heard every word and was not looking forward to Bonnie's examination, not sure how much the witch could see through him. "And I can't think of a better place to do it than East Europe. We should just pack a few things, check some things out quickly while everyone else could keep an eye on the situation around here. I do have an old suitcase somewhere, and Elena could pop back home for a bigger backpack on our way."

"Damon, we talked about this, you're are going to rest till you're all better."

"You want me just to sit tight while my brother performs every kind of service some primal wolf would require?"

Elena stalled, putting a hand to her mouth and quickly decided what could be happening to Stefan was best not thinking about for the sake of her sanity and the chance to retain her ability to act, "no. That's why I thought of Bonnie. We could give her magic a shot."

"I'm fine," Damon declared and stood in a flash, "see?" He jumped up and down, flexed all his muscles and made little punches in the air like a boxer warming up, then walked over to his closet, trying to avoid the magical examination. "All parts in working order," he winked at them. "thriving, in shape, and emotionally stable, right on the ball!"

Bonnie and Elena exchanged and amused look, with the witch frowning in disbelief, "emotionally stable. If I believe that, I guess I'll believe anything."

Damon found the bag he was searching for and faced them, rolling his eyes, "look, I'm touched by the mighty witch goddess giving a shit about my wellbeing, but I'm fine," he insisted.

Bonnie gave him a look that told him aneurysm would be next, "I'm doing Elena a favour cause I don't like to see her worried. Bed and hold still."

Damon bit his lip inside. The pleading expression on the face of the girl he loved standing next to Bonnie gave him no choice. The charade was on. "I said my stomach doesn't hurt, but since everyone's so intent on undressing me," she smiled slyly at the young women and lifted his shirt.

"I wouldn't trust you as far as I can throw you," Bonnie commented, somewhat caught up in the sight of what was under his shirt. It wasn't as much the perfectness of the curves, or the cute shape of his bellybutton, it was more so because now she was sure she recognised the sight. There were several drawings of such a pleasure trail and outline of muscles randomly strewn on the side of Emily Bennett's spell books. What's with that?

"You can actually throw me quite far if you try, can't you not?" Damon challenged. However, the young witch was still a bit shaken by the insight she just got.

"Do you not know how to start?" Elena tried to make sense of her friend's absent-minded demeanour, "maybe if you put a hand on him," she suggested.

"What do you think I am? A faith healer?" Bonnie shook her head, but followed the advice nevertheless lacking a better idea. Keeping a light hand on his stomach, she closed her eyes, hardly able to concentrate on sensing out weaknesses of supernatural beings.

"Bonnie?" Elena had to attract her best friend's attention again after patiently waiting for a while with nothing happening. Damon was raising his eyebrows, very much wishing the same. Any answer was better than no answer. He had made up his plan, if the petite girl declared him fit, he could just say, I told you so.

"Oh…uhm," Bonnie waved her free hand wildly about in frustration, "well, he's quite weak," she's reported on her grasp of his strength. Damn right, I'm weak, the vampire rolled his eyes, I haven't had much blood for days!

Bonnie's hands went on floating across his firm, tensed and nervous stomach, probing and pressing against his naked flesh, somewhere in between an abdominal examination and supernatural sensing.

Seeing her indecision and shilly-shallying, Damon thought a good idea to wince and flex his abs protectively, "ow! Elena! Your friend is one of the most likely people to want to torture me and you want her to be of my attending physician? Seriously?"

Bonnie shrugged and removed her fingers from the thin line of pubic hair they were brushing over, "Damon's right. I'm not a doctor. I can tell that he's not fighting fit and I would guess he's a little sore, but not much else." Apart from the little detail that my legendary ancestor seemed to have had a thing for him. Did Emily sleep with Damon? And in what circumstances could she just ask that question without it being embarrassing for herself? "If you really want me to do something useful, I could go home and consult the books for a witches' brew that might do. But I have to warn you, I'll give no guarantees what such an elixir would do to a vampire."

"Just try your best. It'll do, I'm sure," Elena moved to hug her friend, "thank you so much for trying."

Tbc


	5. Crossing

Chapter 5: Crossing

Damon stepped off the plane after the long, but at least direct transatlantic flight to Budapest. It had to be Hungary they'd start their search for information, he knew some older vampires there who could be willing to share if asked properly. That he had taken Elena with him was natural, it was the only way he felt he could protect her, and the young woman secretly felt the same. She wasn't consciously aware she was doing it, but she was tense and uneasy every time Damon moved out of her sight.

Right now, as she has been for the last days, Elena was looking at him with a concerned expression. She'd packed ten small vials of the concoction Bonnie has given him and threatened him by wanting to make him ingest the contents, asking how he was feeling every ten minutes or so.

"We have to save some for the rest of the journey," Damon insisted. He was going to do everything possible not to have to down the wine tinted liquid. Bonnie had claimed she had changed and made the recipe vampire friendly by swopping the main ingredient from water to blood, thus the colour, Damon however experienced otherwise. He had recovered from the wolf bite, he had been feeling strong, eager, energetic and edgy, at least prior to the witch arriving with his so called medicine. The Salvatore seriously wondered whether the young witch was in on his game and has given him a remedy she knew was going to give him nausea and stomach aches instead of curing it as a punishment. Bonnie! Would be a good joke from the Bennett, he had to admit, but either way, he will have to stay off the brew as much as possible.

Elena bit her lip, not wanting to admit that he was right. They didn't know how long they were on the old continent for just yet, so they had to conserve the supplies. "Just let me know if you need some," she walked hugging him round his waist, giving his stomach a little sympathetic rub as they went.

"Damon Salvatore with his charms," a confident acting woman stood in their way, "how do you make your food serve you with such infatuation without compelling her?"

Elena's eyes quickly focussed on the phenomenon, obviously their contact Damon had intended to see. "How do you know I'm not compelled?" She looked their not so tall, but beautiful interceptor in the eyes. The woman wasn't skinny like those you could cut out of magazine ads, more like the incorporation of an ancient fertility goddess with rounded hips and groovy, bouncy breasts.

"I'm over twentyfive centuries old, dearest," the woman adjusted a pin in her raven black hair. With how much it was up in a bun and rounded in tight circles on her head, Elena wondered how Rapulzellike it could've really been.

"That's not an answer," Elena would not shy away. She'd faced Klaus with dignity as well, but there was something else that unconsciously fuelled her to become defiant. The playful, domineering look the older vampire gave Damon was making Elena jealous.

"I dunno, I dunno, could it be the way you touch him, look at him as if a constant electric current fuelled your gaze, hm? Oh devoted love, true love, so young and pure before you would know it is your own heart alone that'll cause you the agony? Do I recognise that? I've made mistakes once, like everyone."

Elena disentangled herself from her travel companion. It was the second time in less than forty-eight hours an older vampire had pointed out to her she was in love with Damon when she still wasn't willing to admit such a thing to herself up till now and so the allegation was enough to make her back off a little.

"Perchance my spirit summoned thine, oh true love and thou hearest and art here," the woman with the fabulous body continued half mockingly, half jokingly, "summoned with a true love song of the heart,

That would not stop singing everlast,

A burning fire from the lips,

All cries and hopes and dreams

All going to you Damon

So I can have you to look upon!" She stepped close and rose to give him a genuine looking hug that Damon reciprocated, the embrace lasting a bit longer than Elena would've liked.

"You kinda lost your touch, you know that?" Damon held on to the other vampire's hand, squeezing it and caressing it cordially, "what happened to the mirages and dreamlands and lilies?"

"Oh, people don't talk like this anymore, I had to realise," she smiled, "besides, symbols are overrated," the woman replied a little distractedly and Elena had the impression that the ancient one was listening out to so many other things in the background at the same time. She had an air of vastness and intensity, very vampiric in her attention and embracing of every aspect of the moment, not limited to human perception.

"This is Elena Gilbert," Damon seemed to notice the human's presence again, "let me introduce you to..hm, I dunno what name you go by these days, so well, this is Sapho, or the way she was introduced to me in the good old days, Christina Georgina Rossetti."

"Nice to meet you," the other vampire granted a fraction of a second of attention to the young girl, "and its good to see you Damon," she smiled at him again, showing off a line of cute little perfect teeth, seemingly so unvampirelike as it goes.

Elena froze, barely able to keep her composure, "you mean you're Sapho and Christina Rossetti at the same time?" She knew Damon had only had eyes for Katherine though his lifetime, but she wondered whether a famous conquest like the poetess would mean anything more to him than any of the other numerous ladies he had bedded to pass the time and amuse himself.

The attractive vampire shrugged, "that's in the past. I still go by the name Christina though. Christina Sanders." She blew some air out to displace a braid of her very dark hair that slipped down into her face like the twenty year old she looked like would've, "But I did write some poems about your guy here."

"You mean that something about a blue eyed phantom?" Damon laughed.

"Yeah, well, can't remember the words anymore," she laughed with him.

"Don't say that Christina," Damon said softly, "this might the a different world than the one we used to know, but romance isn't dead." He set his bag down so that the verses sounded more poetic as he raised a hand to his chest, "oh why is heaven built so far,

Oh why is earth set so remote?

I cannot reach the nearest star

That hangs afloat.

I would not care to reach the moon,

One round monotonous of change;

Yet even she repeats her tune

Beyond my range.

I never watch the scatter'd fire

Of stars, or sun's far-trailing train,

But all my heart is one desire,

And all in vain:

For I am bound with fleshly bands,

Joy, beauty, lie beyond my scope;

I strain my heart, I stretch my hands,

And catch at hope."

The women watched in awe as he recited. Christina was impressed that he remembered her poems, Elena because she saw yet another part of him she hadn't before, even though she suspected it existed.

"That one wasn't about you," Christina challenged him in the end.

"Its about anyone who was ever hopelessly in love," Damon specified, "and I guess that would cover me," he provided some self insight freely.

"So you know about Klaus," Elena tried to take the conversation into the right direction. She did not like the signs of obvious previous intimacy between those two vampires, or Damon's lack of reluctance to share private information.

"Try not to know about Klaus with an extensive history like mine's," Christina gave.

"I've tried not to know about Klaus with a history like mine's," Elena reciprocated, earning an upshot of a sceptical eyebrow from the older woman that suddenly made her feel very, very young.

"But you are curious, aren't you? You still have your penthouse gallery by the Danube? We could satisfy your curiosity regarding Klaus' interest in Elena for something similar from yourself?" Damon signalled a taxi driver over to help with their luggage and took both women by the arm.

Christina gave him an admonishing look, "you know that's not exactly how it works, Damon," she walked on, her body closely pressed to the other vampire, making Elena really squirmish about how exactly did it go between those two.

Tbc


	6. Damon's Reputation

Chapter 6: Reputation

"There are so many things to do in this city, especially for a human. You could go shopping, use my bankcard. There are culinary delicacies, even I'd vouch for that and I'm not talking about the flavour of Hungarian blood, although that also has a specific antique feel to it as well you don't get anywhere else if you care to know. The architecture is a complete mix of all the cultures of half of Europe and the lights make nightlife almost like daytime, which is of course not actually all that safe for…"

"Damon! I'm not interested in going out!" Elena insisted for the third time.

"Are you sure? The lights around the castle area are breathtaking as they reflect in the river. If you just stay around the casinos, there are plenty of people about and many of your age. Budapest's a common student destination."

"You don't need to get rid of me. I'm a big girl. If you would've thought Christina was a threat to me, you wouldn't have brought me here."

"She'll be more inclined to share the information we need if you're out of the house," Damon tried to convince her to leave him alone for a chance. They have not been apart for more than a few minutes ever since his brush with death and while it was endearing, he could not be and act like the Damon his former lover knew and expected if Elena was always about.

"Well, I can gather as much that you're gonna be sleeping with her, so its not as if its coming as big surprise. I'll just keep out the way in the guest room we've been given, okay?"

"Its not that I will claim him, little one," Christina stood leaning against the doorway barefoot, "it's the way I'm intending to do it he thinks you should give a miss," she walked closer to stare Elena in the eyes in a provoking way, "he must be thinking you too innocent for the experience. But I'd like to know what you think girl. Would you like to watch?"

"She doesn't." Damon stood between them, "not to mention how hungry you tend to get after, Tina. I'd like to keep Elena amongst the living if you don't mind."

"No, she doesn't," Christina leaned close to finger the young woman's hair seductively, "she doesn't want to loose sight of you for as long as a moment even. Isn't that right Elena?"

"We're in this together," Elena stood her ground, "so much of what had happened lately with the Salvatore brothers is either my fault or is to do with me. If you know something that'll help us find Stefan, I'm gonna give you the price, but under no circumstances will that price be something that Damon's not comfortable giving."

Christina backed off physically, rather stunned by the answer and the girl's apparent lack of fear when facing ancient vampires. Then she gave a pleased and clearly amused laugh, "you seriously intend to protect not just the ripper, but also his unruly, uninhibited, debauched and decadent brother, including his comfort?"

"I told you I wanted to keep her alive and now you maybe see why we think her special." Damon sounded pleading, almost apologetic for the first time in his interactions with the lot older and stronger vampire, a trace of his undertone giving her the respect a woman in her position required.

"All the more reason to give her what she wants. Stay and learn. You'll be a vampire soon enough," Christina gave one more moment of her attention to the mortal girl before blurring into a flash. By the next time she slowed her movements visible to the human eye, Damon was lying on the carpet, all his clothes torn to shreds and discarded around them.

The fact that Elena had seen him naked before did not lessen her disbelief. Nobody could be that perfect, that beautiful. It was always happening so spontaneously, her eyes were glued to the smooth skin of his body, desperately trying to encompass all of Damon in her visual field as if it would've given her nourishment. She breathed in deeply, heightening every sense. It seemed like her eyes were picking up the colours with a deeper acuity, every contrast and shade of light distinguished. The sun made Damon's pale, thin body glisten through the large, wall size windows, bright and yellow, airy and white, radiant and pure, so much so, nobody could've guessed this was a vampire's house.

Elena's eyes were widening still. Real vampires did not sparkle, but sunlight made him ethereally beautiful. Christina was keeping him straddled, with his hands pinned to the side, a grip that he would neither want or could get out of. The slightly tensed position caused the muscles on his chest and soft, but tight abdomen to become more noticeable and his hair was tousled from the swift way he was tackled and undressed. Some people didn't suit the scruff look and Elena was quite sure she didn't like untidy, not till she's seen the older Salvatore like that. Dishevelled and looking like an angel at the same time.

"Not with her here," Damon warned Christina looking admonishingly in her eyes to keep her from going too far.

"You're the sweetest when you're embarrassed," Christina taunted, but promised him what he wanted with an honest, benevolent look.

Elena was too busy being in awe of how gifted he was un the endowment department to notice his attempt at eye contact at first, Damon wanted to make sure one more time that she could cope with what she was about to witness. Like hell she could. Lost in the blue ocean depths of his eyes, she was practically oblivious to another woman being in the room. To some extent, it was as if while she didn't feel morally right to be intimate with Damon herself, she could allow herself to be inexorably drawn to watching and not take on the responsibility for doing so. It was her hormones, not really her, it was them wanting to be curious from time to time, wanting to explore another side of life. Elena felt herself getting aroused and made no attempt to calm herself. Her slightly parted, languid lips gained colour as if it would've been her and not Christina feeling up his chest, sliding over every bump and valley on his front.

The older vampire spared her a glance too, provocatively, yet invitingly and Elena caught the change in the expression and the explosion of lust in her eyes before the picture before the human became blurry again. But she didn't need to see everything to understand the desperate passion with which Christina devoured a prey that was technically never hers, not would be.

Flashes of movement revealed her enticing lingerie, soaked in the dark red blood spraying from his side and shoulders by the second time they took down from their vampire speed. Damon was writhing and moaning despite himself, senses overtaking over mind and Elena was quite sure it wasn't the pain, but the result of vampire teeth and tongue that covered his entire torso in less than a minute. The girl gulped. The scene was rather visceral, but it made her wonder. Would she as a human with her physical limitations ever be satisfying to either Stefan or Damon?

Elena hissed in shock. Without warning, Christina bit into the deep flesh of his chest. It wasn't what shocked her to the core, it was that pain aroused him visibly. Damon's cock jumped, twitched and grew, still.

Happy with the result, Christina continued downward a little more gently, with nips and sucks of his stomach and hips rather than plain biting. She lapped all the blood up from the wounds created by her on her way, as if she didn't want to waste any. The vampire spent a little more time licking around his pubic hair and the blood streaming down from his pleasure trail and into his belly button.

It was enticing, it made Elena want to reach out and touch him herself, pull the other away and take over. That part of his belly, that part of his anatomy, it was only recently she stroked, rubbed and massaged not so long ago. Christina shouldn't be hurting him there anyway, not now when he's barely recovered. But of course you shouldn't tell an ancient vampire about Damon's weaknesses.

Body to body close and tight, Damon's lover slid up against him, her pussy pressing into his waist. She lifted her buttocks a little, expertly, precisely and slammed her whole weight down his cock, taking one more of his body parts prisoner without having to feel for position with her hands. Impaled, the beauty pounced up and down his shaft gripping his arms like handle bars. It didn't take her long to satisfy herself, a few thrusts and it felt like the whole building shook with her orgasm. A few additional riding motions and she milked his every semen out of him mercilessly. He tensed and spasmed, his throat emitting a primal howl ending in a gasp. Closing his eyes against its inevitability, he cam violently

None of this seemed remotely human, but essentially wild, animalic and ferocious. The older vampire's control seemed retained on that edge Elena had never liked and she despite the exchanged bodily fluids, she would've really liked some other sign that Damon was enjoying this at all. He never imagined him the type who would've let himself be dominated, but then again, she must've been so very with that assumption if she took into account that those who counted to him, Katherine and Rose were both older and thus stronger vampires.

"'Lena," She could see him mouth self consciously, uncomfortable with having sex with another woman in front of her, despite his typical exhibitionism. He tried to lift his head up, push the other vampire away and look at the Gilbert girl's reaction, make sure she wasn't grossed out. He wanted her so much and yet willingly or unwillingly he kept ending up in situations that compromised her opinion of him.

Christina pressed on his chest and banged his head back down in the process. She wasn't finished with him yet, so she pushed her pussy tight into his waist and scraped her canines against his arms, stopping him from moving as much as an inch with the force of her frenzied adoration, choking him senseless with her rough and delicious, what you could call vampire caress. Just as well he didn't need to breathe.

Elena stared at the hardly healing bruises, not so sure she wanted to see the interaction now, but unable to leave. If Damon was not back to full health, this kind of lovemaking could have disastrous consequences. Or did he like to hurt? His whole life was a succession of upsets and grief. How could those be shouts and groans and gasps of pleasure when Christina was so obviously hurting him?

She didn't notice when she started crawling, it wasn't like a conscious decision. Only suddenly Elena found herself kneeling right next to them and reaching out a hand feebly. She could've gotten a stake of course, but she was quite sure it would've been a bad idea, yet the brunette felt she needed to do something.

Christina's head snapped to the side and she growled at her instinctively before drawing back, smiling. She licked her lips waywardly, then snatched Elena's arm and pulled it in between her legs, where she placed the girls' fingers round Damon's manhood and let go.

Elena froze. She was surprised to find that despite having cummed only a minute ago, he was large and hard. The doppelganger did not dare to look in the Salvatore's direction and had no intention to find out his reaction. Perhaps he had his smirk on, but most likely would be embarrassed as well. The school girl contemplated withdrawing, but she was sure the older vampire would disapprove. Besides, Elena felt so excited, dreamlike and lightheaded, not sure if her current breathing pattern would allow her to speak, move or disagree. The poetess was looking her straight in the eyes, but Elena was quite certain the older woman had no intentions to compel her. Christina didn't strike her as the type of person who would encourage anything fake or be untruthful to herself.

"Please," the poetess' gentle, almost fond and compassionate voice mobilised Elena enough to be able to form a response.

"You're such a tease, Tina," Damon tried to give Elena the choice by attempting to pull away.

"That's why you like me boy," Christina kept him firmly under her control, steadily, but not callously. "Come on Elena, give him and yourself what you both need." The change in the older vampire seemed natural, they had two sides, a ferocious, intense, dangerous one and a placid, long-suffering, affectionate one and Christina showed her just that.

"But I..I don't know how to," Elena admitted, her embarrassment starting to win out.

Christina nodded reassuringly and placed her own fingers over hers again, strengthening her hold on his delicious throbbing erection. "Kneel closer, slide here next to me," she pulled her closer, this time a lot more gently. The older woman then started guiding her hand, stroking round his balls and deep into his pubic hair softly before shoving her how to move purposefully up and down his shaft. Christina could play with Damon's flawless body all day long and she often had. In love he was with someone else at the time, and that was fine, as it was now. She had her fun, but watching could be just as enjoyable. Too bad Elena wasn't a virgin, the old vampire liked teaching them, seeing them open up, smelling the innocence.

Damon's head fell back, he was letting the women pamper him after making sure there was not a trace of reluctance on Elena's face. Curiosity, yes, yearning. Her actions spoke by themselves. Christina held her hand lightly only now, carefully turning Elena's thumb up and onto his sensitive spot below the head of his cock the experienced vampire knew so well.

"Fuck," a deep groan ripped from Damon's throat despite his self awareness he held on to. He would never want to loose his composure, not around Elena. It could be dangerous.

"Kiss him," Christina directed, raising a finger to her chin to look into her eyes. Not so she could make her, but so she could see the truth. "Like you want to."

Elena nodded imperceptibly. She would not dare to argue with the old vampire, not out of fear, but because she saw millennia of proven wisdom reflecting in her gaze. There was a second of hesitation before she started leaning down till her head was just to the side of his and another moment of delay when she stared at his shapely lips uncertainly ahead of making her move and kissing him gently, but deeply, strangled emotions turning into all the love she could muster.

Damon sighed into the kiss, a fair amount of relief washing over him because of her willingness to demonstrate passion for him, but was not sure if he could go as far as kissing back and wrapping his arms round her. His unresponsiveness was to some extent due to fear that she might swiftly come to her senses and stop and partly because she was fingering a delicate spot of his erection in a rough manner, still under Christina's guidance. The older vampire was shaking her head nevertheless, "that's not where he needs you the most." She leaned down to run her tongue on the free tip of his cock, showing the way.

Elena licked her lips. She wanted Christina out of the way, Damon was hers. Fascinated by his raring, curved erection, she lowered her mouth on it the moment the other vampire let go. Her tongue flicking out, she tasted him, not caring licking his blood off that covered his cock along his entire body after Christina's assault. She sucked him gently, but eagerly, fulfilling a not so infrequent fantasy that kept waking her up at night. She had been dreaming about Damon's penis.

Damon moaned, groaned and squirmed and it had nothing to do with Christina moving to the side and resolving to having little bites out his arms and sides, but giving the rest of him over to Elena. His erection convulsed and he panted, forcing himself to breathe faster. The Salvatore was not sure how young Elena would react if he released his cum in her mouth. Not restrained by Christina anymore, he reached up and pulled Elena higher.

Her eyes widened in annoyance at first, but then she spotted his bloody pleasure trail right in front of her eyes. Perhaps another spot needed her. She lightly let the little hairs touch her tender, sensitive lips, then ran a tongue over it. He moaned as she suckled him passionately, no way he could keep in control anymore. "Elena…" He tried to warn her with a husky voice and pulled her even higher.

She did not object this time, but kissed his stomach admiringly and licked a clean line on his messy chest, not noticing that Christina had completely retreated and left the room, nor the amount of his blood that she had willingly took in. The girl seemed to simply enjoy his beautiful body. She sucked his nipples, cleaned his collarbone and so close to his inviting lips, she moved up to kiss him. Nobody was stopping her now.

Wait, nobody was..her gaze snapped to his to collide with his cloudy, dazzlingly hopeful eyes. Why was she doing this? She couldn't be doing this, not when it wasn't for the older vampire's pleasure and ultimately for her telling them about Klaus? Elena got up on her knees, only now realising how sticky with blood her clothes were. She had to get out of there.

Damon didn't stop her.

tbc


	7. Fine Tooth Comb

Chapter 7: Fine-tooth Comb

Damon spent the rest of the night in a proper bed with Christina, like he'd originally thought he would. He had heard Elena running the shower, than calling for a taxi to get into the city centre as he had previously suggested and that was just fine, it would've been too embarrassing to face her just now.

Christina had been gracious to him. She's requested nothing, but his sensual fingers to work on her, a couple of snacks in between that he was meant to bring up from the streets and to feed on him as well from time to time.

Damon never quite understood why the antediluvian was so keen on his blood, but if he remembered well a few decades ago she did mention something about preference for taste. He was rather sceptical however when she started her originals story and made the allegation that Klaus' parents were hybrids from two different alien races. Not that it mattered anyway, what he was interested in was the possible whereabouts of Klaus, not his lineage. Christina dug out some old map and pulled it onto the bed with them, then with his bleeding finger she marked a few towns, villages and settlements, her best guesses, in the Carpathians. Then they slept.

It was eerily quiet when Damon sneaked himself out from under Christina at twilight. He was hungry, but his attention quickly steered away from the feeling after realising Elena was not only not in the house, but did not return back at all. He checked the guestroom and her belongings. Everything was pretty much there, along with her passport and the return airline ticket. Which was worse than her freaking out over the day before and flying back to Mystic Falls. Where was Elena?

Damon left in a hurry, barely bothering to clean himself and a little disoriented from bloodloss and having been with the old one. Smelling to the right and to the left at a loss for a few seconds, it was only then that he remembered that cell phones existed in this century. He however almost gave up on the idea on the telephonic invention for it rang out so long before Elena answered.

"Damon?" The voice sounded empty, haunted and false, but it was Elena's.

"What are you doing? Where are you?" The vampire frowned. He should've been relieved that he had found her and also that she was willing to talk to him, but the sound of her voice unnerved him.

"I dunno..." She sounded at a loss and Damon had almost started to urge her to answer again when she continued, "I dunno Damon. There's a bridge. Dirty and windy...I'm under a bridge."

"Under a bridge? Its not safe, people who live on the streets keep their meagre belongings there. Look, if you're lost, just get up onto the bridge, they are busy lifelines of the city, you'll be able to get a cab. Do you know this address? I'll pay the cabbie when you get here."

"I can't go out there, Damon, I can't. It hurts.."

"What? What happened? Are you injured?"

"No, no, I don't think so. Its just..the light. Not as bad as it was, not everywhere. But the twilight still hurts my eyes."

There was a long pause at the other end. "You kidding, right?"

"I dunno..I dunno! But confusion's part of transition period, its normal to be confused. So I only think I can't go out into direct sunlight, but in fact I can, at least till...till.."

"Elena! Could you bloody tell me what the hell are you talking about? What happened?"

"I can't tell you."

"You can't remember?"

"I remember," Elena swallowed, "but I can't tell you. It makes it real."

"All right, then just tell me where you are. What bridge? I'll come and get you. What's around you?"

"I don't know what bridge. But there's an island in the middle of the river and I'm on the island."

"I know where that is. I'm gonna run as fast as I can. With the one way traffic, its going to get me there quicker than a taxi. Just wait there..Elena? Are you there?"

"Damon, you gotta be careful. Stefan.."

"Stefan's there with you?"

"No, no. Stefan..he..I think he killed me. He didn't know I had your blood inside me and he still killed me."

"Elena, don't do anything rash, I'm coming!"

tbc


	8. Passage

Chapter 8: Passage

Margaret Island is a beautiful place located between Buda and Pest, in the middle of the Danube River. Preponderantly park land with several old ruins and churches and no vehicles allowed on, it's very peaceful and you feel very removed from the city even though its right in the heart of one of the busiest cities in East Europe. For that reason, its beloved by those practising yoga, bikers or joggers., especially at this time of day.

Even on this not particularly breezy day, Damon could smell the blood from afar. He didn't need to shout out Elena's name to find his way to where she was standing pressing her body onto the wall of the underpassage that went below the bridge. It looked as if she would've wanted to hole herself in.

"Is he..is he alive?" She stared at the body lying in front of her on top of a twisted bicycle wheel.

Damon stooped down beside the fallen figure instead of what he wanted, to hug her and cradle her in his arms and try to lessen her distress. "Yes, most definitely. I'll call an ambulance as soon as we get away from here."

"Damon, he was speeding past me as I was standing here. I don't even remember when I grabbed him off his bike."

"Its all right Elena," the older vampire placed his hands on her shoulders to make her look up at him, force her into some kind of connection with the world as opposed to the glazed stare. "You stopped in time," he leaned closer, attempting eye contact, "a couple of days in the hospital and he'll be good as new," he assured her of what he assumed would be important for the girl still, despite her condition.

"I am a vampire, Damon," she swallowed, her voice trembling.

"How does it feel?" He enquired pressingly, impatiently. Everybody's reaction to such turn of events could be different and he needed to know what she needed right now.

"I think..I think..oh god, I'm still hungry."

Damon sped towards her and propelled her with him about a hundred yards backwards onto the island's shore, where the river gently lapped at the stone bank, where they were further away from any path and temptation. "Drink me," he offered her his wrist, "its not the real thing, but it'll do till we can get you something else."

The newly turned vampire was looking around anxiously for something to concentrate her mind on. Her sensory perception was overloaded and she could hear voices and footsteps from as far as the other bank of the river, all unequivocally helping her in the direction her instincts would take her. She would've never thought control was this hard for a vampire. Desperate not to loose it and harm another human being, her nostrils flared before she bit into the offered hand.

Damon watched her curiously. Could you ever know how vampiredom changed a person? If anyone should be able to learn discipline quickly, it would be Elena, and yet right just now it didn't seem so. She moaned as she sucked his blood, the taste so delicious to her and all the less satisfying for making her want more, disregarding the trickle that dripped out her mouth and pooled between the hollow of her breasts. The girl closed her eyes, breathing heavily with every gulp that went down her throat, giving her strength, making him weak.

His eyes were blurring too, but the Salvatore ignored the feeling. Christina had drained him repeatedly previously and he hardly replenished any of his blood as the human gifts were for the antediluvian only, but when it came right down to it, Elena was not killing him, merely making him faint. Her need was more important to him, it always have been. And somewhere deep within him it was her closeness and touch than made him weaken and falter evermore, fuelling a fervour that made him more alive then ever despite the his physical strength leaving him.

Elena drank for what she felt was a long while and the only thing that stopped her was the fact that the bloodflow slowed to a trickle and it was getting more and more troublesome to suck it out. At the same time it registered with her that she had to lean down and hold onto her meal if she wanted more. Damon was sagging into her arms, unable to hold himself up any further, with an uncontrollable shaking going through his body.

The baby vampire let go in vexation and looked down. Damon looked a fright, noticeably thinner, his skin dry like sandpaper. Elena squeaked in shock, more sound could not come out of her mouth. His love was unconscious and yet looking anguished as he struggled trough moans to open his eyes.

She had done this. This was her mess.

Elena knelt down beside him, palm clutched to her mouth. Then she immediately took her hands off her face when she realised they became slick with blood. Was there anyone else who was so bad at controlling herself as a new vampire? Cheeks flushed as much from embarrassment as from the excess of blood at the pratfall she'd made, she panicked over having had any dignity left and how laughable her so called human principles will be now in the eyes of the person she had beside her once he woke up. She bit her lip, puzzled at her own actions. She was horrified, deeply embarrassed, worried about Damon and entirely sorry at the same time. How could she ever look into his eyes in her anguished shame? What an idiot she had been, thinking that you could just stop drinking blood and the pull of evil by simply having them as your principles?

Terrified of herself, her mind ground to a halt. She needed him so much, to tell her what to do, punish her if that was needed to stop her thirst and most of all she needed his love as he's always had for her to guide her through. Clutching his head to her chest, she lifted him up into her arms, matting his hair with blood, "Damon, please," she whispered frenziedly, rocking both of them back and forth.

It took her a while to realise that in the state he was in, it would be her who had to be the one doing something.

Tbc


	9. Bargain

Chapter 9: Bargain

Damon looked like he was asleep. His skin not so sunken anymore, he still had no colour. Unmoving, he seemed exposed and defenceless, yet he was so handsome still that Elena felt aroused just by looking at him. He wasn't conscious, so this feeling was wrong, and yet she couldn't help it. Vampires felt everything magnified and Elena was afraid of herself again, of what she might do to him in her arousal. All this having to control herself all the time was debilitating. She would never get anywhere like this. The girl from Mystic Falls stood like this over him for what seemed like an eternity to just watch his chest go up and down, a habit that was so automatic for him that right this moment he could've been mistaken for a human.

But as pleasant and peaceful it felt, they could not stay at the hospital. So far Damon had even unconsciously kept up is breathing and circulation and she had been felt alone in the room with him most of the time, but someone was bound to catch on soon that he wasn't quite normal. Either that, or she'll eat one of the nurses if they bothered to come in again. Elena needed Damon's guidance, badly and urgently. She scrutinised him bewildered for another moment, his chiselled features, the blood drip in the back of his hand, the monitors showing erratic details of something that was nothing but irrelevant nonsense. Elena looked around, making sure noone was coming and shook his shoulders forcefully, "Damon! You need to wake up!"

Damon blinked a couple of times, then tried to get up startled when he saw where he was. He only got a few inches up his pillow before he grunted and fell back onto the bed.

"What are you doing? What is going on Elena?" He gave her a penetrating, perturbed look, "have you lost your mind bringing me here?"

"I'm sorry I just didn't know what to do," she whispered, "I couldn't risk trying to get you a meal myself, maybe I would've killed them and I wasn't sure you'd be able to drink anyway," she explained, "did you get enough blood?" She swallowed, "its kinda hard being here, too many humans..Do you think we could go now? Are you ok?"

Damon focussed his attention inwardly, then gave a prudent answer, moving his limbs a little to test his limits, "I don't know..." He looked around searchingly, feeling really out of place. He couldn't believe Elena would bring him to a hospital, it was insane. "But with a little help I should be able to get out of here," he untangled himself from the drip.

Elena guided an arm under his back while he would his around her neck to shakily draw himself up. He was leaning on her a lot more than intended, but at least he didn't need to worry that human Elena would not be able to take his weight. "Let's fly," he suggested, looking into the window's direction. The young vampire frowned, confused. Surely Damon wasn't suggesting turning into a crow and taking her with him? He laughed at her expression and jumped, holding onto her. They were on the second floor and so had no trouble landing on their feet unharmed. There was a spark in Elena's eyes running out the courtyard, her appreciation growing for her new abilities as they leapt over the fence. Maybe being a vampire wasn't so bad after all.

Damon halted by the next corner though, grabbing for the wall for support lightheaded and she was reminded again of her transgressions. "I'm so sorry Damon," she blurted, "do you need more blood?"

"Always," Damon rolled his eyes, his answer attempting to make her feel better about what she has done, "when do I not? But.."

Her hands grabbed for him, interrupting his words and she wrapped her arms around his waist and just held onto him, offering support, which he took very willingly. Much more pleasant option than the wall at any case. He was somewhat heavy and limp in her arms, but not all of him. Elena's eyes widened as she realised what it was. Whoa, her senses were so heightened, could it be really that she was smelling of the scent of his arousal? She pressed her side closer into him just to check, yes, his cock must had hardened instantly in his pants the moment she touched him, this is how it felt experiencing it with her new vampire sense. She shuddered, groaning needily, a response she would've and always suppressed as a human, but as a newly turned supernatural being she did not know how to. Her eyes closed involuntarily in deja vu, she had held him before like this, under the shower, eliciting the same reaction from him. She would've never thought memories coloured, deepened and became more detailed with her newfound abilities as well, but she could almost feel the water droplets tricking down his body, making her clothes stick to her. The feel of his naked skin beneath her fingers had been quite hard to ignore back then, but now she thought the feeling was indescribable. She spread her fingers wide on his sides, just like she did when helping him get washed, desire burning through her urging her to frantically trace every inch of him with her fingers. She never felt anything like this before, not with this revelling intensity as if it would've been oil burning in her veins.

"Hey," Damon roused her from her half-comatose-with-desire state by pushing her away. When she looked up to see why, she found him staring down at her with an expression one of reassuring warmth and affection. Nobody could be irate when regarded like that and his gaze also told her he knew exactly how she felt. "Sorry," he finally said, reluctantly setting her aside to pull a blood bag out his pocket he so conveniently picked up before they left the hospital. "Not out here in the alleyway," he suggested, drinking up. It looked like he'd need his strength for something entirely different next.

"Where then?"

"On the top of the world," Damon winked at her and took her by the hand. Judging from the strength he had in his arms to pull her back towards the river, he must've regained most of his energy.

Elena shivered in anticipation from the guilty pleasure of his touch.

Tbc


	10. Neccessity

Chapter 10: Necessity

It was the fact that they were running and blurring through the streets at top speed and upwards on the Buda hills that stopped Elena from jumping on Damon and claiming him as hers as she knew fine well he was. Somewhere in the back of her mind she was aware that it was carnal desire aided by her vampire heightened senses that were guiding her right now, but his scent and the sight of his beautiful physique was engulfing her awareness so much that her desire consumed all other thought. Never had she been so dominated by and full of need for another. Elena felt drunken by him, by his presence as well as his whole existence and she was so intoxicated by desire it was starting to become physically painful for her to restrain herself, not to reach out with her other hand not in contact with him, stop him and pull him to her, experience his closeness and full-fill the sense of belonging that tortured her, wanting completion. It scared her how much she ached to see him naked, to make love to him and she had to realise that she had wanted nothing more, that her being a vampire only unleashed her previously forcibly contained emotions. Surrendering to it felt so natural.

Elena didn't understand why they were still running, but melting into him like the shadow to its owner, it somehow felt wrong to question the object of her desire. Distracted by her memories elicited by their earlier embrace, she already felt her body warming a degree to every flashback and recollection of how he stood before her naked, awkwardly and shy, so unlike how he'd openly behave, proud and cocky about his perfect, eternal stud body otherwise. That they had arrived at destination she had hardly noticed.

Up on top of the ancient castle wall on the hills overlooking one of the most beautiful cities of Europe, Damon turned her around to face away from him, holding her from behind, "the Paris of the East," he pointed in the direction of the illuminated sights of the spectacular Chain Bridle, the promenade and the parliament, all reflecting in the Danube, along with the many world heritage buildings embedded between five star hotels, criss cross tram lines and casinos. It was a clear night and despite her mind being elsewhere, the view took hold of a portion of her soul. "I didn't know you were so romantic, Damon," she whispered.

"It looked almost, just like this, a hundred years ago. Only with not as much luminosity coming from the gas lamps."

"You were here? With Christina?" Elena found that jealousy was ripping at her with so much more force now as well.

Damon shrugged, "we spent a few enjoyable evenings together." From his tone of voice, it didn't matter to him much one way or another and Elena sensed every nuance in his voice like never before, she realised. Not fair, she mused, no wonder Damon was better at detecting lies than she had been as a human. Every moment of her new life was a new discovery for her.

He moved a little to her side, not breaking body contact and lifted her chin so he could look into her deep brown eyes, a pair of beautiful pearls he'll never be able to compel her through again. "Do you want tonight to be our night, amore?"

Revelling in the sensation of being one with him, his body wrapped around hers, she smiled and kissed him gently, shyly, knowing that he loved her without confessions needed, amazing herself with her own gentleness and control of her raging and unruly newborn vampire emotions. But Damon deserved the effort, her care. Her lips lingering on his, breaths tingling, her tongue slowly, but slipped forward, exploring his mouth.

His response surprised her. Her showing her affection openly towards him had been something he had always dreamed of, yet he still pushed her back a little so they made eye contact once more. The push was soft and his expression strained and she didn't understand. A pout formed on her lips as she stared and she felt tears prickling her dark eyes. It was so easy to be offended in your pride if you were a vampire too, apparently.

Damon gave her a little apologetic smile and kissed her forehead, brushing a hand against her cheek with a trembling finger. He was nervous as so much depended on the next minutes, but that was exactly why he had to question her. Just like with Katherine, if Elena wanted to make love to him, it had to be for the right reasons, not just cause she couldn't reign in her new vampire horniness. "One moment," he placed a finger on her lips, "I know its hard for you to hold back, but I need to know. Do you love me?" He asked quietly, his blue eyes burning with a fire the ocean they mirrored was not capable of. The Salvatore was cognizant of the weight his question carried and completely aware of the fact that he would spend the next century in despair if the answer was unfavourable.

Elena's mouth opened in disbelief at the vulnerability in his voice. This was Damon, like he let no other person on earth see, apart from Katherine perhaps. First the romantic view, and now this. Damon could be so fragile, gullible and needy when it came to the love of a woman. Tears now overflowing her eyelashes, she was captivated by the tender, insecure expression on his face. Swiftly as to not to keep him feeling tortured anymore, she replied with as much honesty as she could muster, her gaze deepening into one of love and affection, randiness forgotten for the moment, "I have always loved you. My heart was already yours from the beginning. I just didn't know it."

The rest is history. Have Alaric tell you one day.

The End


End file.
